Why on God’s green earth would anyone make a cigar this size? I mean, yeah, I know the story, some LFD connoisseur told someone from LFD (I don’t think it was Litto but I could be wrong) that while they loved the double ligero it wasn’t strong enough for him and wanted something that was much, much bigger. Some time later, the LFD representative came back to this guy with this monstrous ligero stick and said “Smoke that!” The connoisseur, and I’m not using that word in a derogatory fashion because in the stories I heard this guy is a serious cigar smoker, came back after smoking one saying that he loved it and wanted more.

Thus, the Digger, which gets its name from the hole that will have to be dug to bury your ligero-addled body after smoking one of these things, was born. Measuring in at 8.5″ with a ring gauge of 60, this cigar is definitely massive. I have seen bigger cigars (there is the Meaner Digger after all) but, damn, why? Who would want to smoke this thing?

Since I’m doing a review of this cigar I am presumably one of those people who would want to smoke this cigar. LFD DL fans would probably give it a try as well along with a horde of other people who are interested in trying a cigar that has to be near the apotheosis of the big cigar trend. (It has to be, right?)

Once you get beyond the size of this cigar you are left with a cigar with a decent amount of oil on the light-medium brown wrapper. There are some veins on it but, honestly, I’m surprised that they were able to find wrapper-grade tobacco that was big enough to cover the copious amounts of binder and filler tobacco that goes into the construction of one of these monsters.

Excuse me while I find the hedge trimmer so I can cut the cap and light this baby up.

Usually, I like the maduro wrapped La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero but that doesn’t mean I don’t like the natural version. As for this one, it’s good. Up front there’s a strong, bright spice along with some faint fruity sweetness and oak. Nice mixture of flavors and that spice is very nice and strong.

The second third, which begins a little after one hour of smoking, continues on where the first third left off. There are a couple of additions, however, and they are pleasant earthiness and cashews.

Hay gets added to the mix about two hours in. The flavor profile is very dry, which works well with the flavors that are present. A lot of good stuff is going on with this cigar but the fact that I’m two hours into it and there’s still another third to go is just too much. Evidently, you can have too much of a good thing.

Full bodied with a good draw and burn; the La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Digger Natural is a good cigar that sticks around way too long. Actually, I would have enjoyed this cigar just fine if I had set it down after the halfway point but that defeats the whole purpose of smoking a cigar like this, doesn’t it? With that said, I can’t see myself buying any more of these. After five of these cigars, which equates to more than 15 hours, I’ve had my fill. But I haven’t tried the maduro yet and there is that Meaner Digger….

I received two of these cigars from Smoke Inn for this review; as always, all reviews are my own

“Quesada” is the name of the cigar making family, “Oktoberfest” is a drunkfest celebrated by Germans (I think they are celebrating short dresses, lederhosen and beer; I’m not sure though) and “Dunkel” is German for what I’m guessing is some sort of “dunking.” Maybe some of that first sentence is true, maybe none of it is. For some real info check out the blurb from Smoke Inn’s site:

This exclusive cigar is the newest offering in the Smoke Inn Microblend Series™. The Oktoberfest Dunkel is a 6×54 cigar that is specifically blended to pair perfectly with your favorite Oktoberfest brew.

The Oktoberfest Dunkel features the same binders and fillers of the regular Oktoberfest release, with the exception of the wrapper. A very select broadleaf maduro wrapper envelops this rich cigar with a slight underlying Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper at the foot, thus giving the appearance of a dark rich Dunkel beer with a savory foamy head.

Like the above quote points out, the main wrapper, the broadleaf maduro, comes up about a quarter of an inch short of the foot revealing a much lighter wrapper, which is the Ecuadorian Connecticut. It’s interesting to look at but will it have much of an affect on the flavor of the cigar? Speaking of the cigar, it looks well made with a slightly rough texture, a decent amount of oils and some small, lighter colored marks on the wrapper. There are some veins as well.

It starts out very pleasantly. Warm wood, fatty nuts and some caramel sweetness lurking around in the background. I like this mixture of flavors and I can easily see the connection between this cigar and beer. The flavors are dark and robust with an underlying sweetness that is very enjoyable.

A floral sweetness with some spice comes on during the second third, which is a nice progression for this cigar to make. The strongest flavor going on is that caramel sweetness tinged with a hint of oak. It’s still quite good but less like beer.

Oak and floral notes are the main thing in the final third. There’s also a slightly burnt caramel flavor coming through right now that takes a bit of my enjoyment out of the cigar but, overall, it’s still a plus cigar.

Medium bodied with a good draw and burn; the Smoke Inn Microblend Series Quesada Oktoberfest Dunkel is a pretty good cigar. Have it with a dark beer (by the way, after reading a little more into it, “dunkel” means “dark” in German; who knew?) and you will have a good time.

I’ll be honest here: I have not smoked a lot of Davidoffs in my life. And that is probably to my detriment because I have heard a lot of good things about them. For example, one guy I know said that he used to exclusively smoke one of the Davidoff brands almost exclusively because there was something about the taste that was addictive. I understand that feeling as I have it from time to time with cigars I have smoked. Interesting thing, with me at least, is that the cigar doesn’t have to be “spectacularly good” in order to be one of those cigars that I go to a lot; it just has to have that something special that keeps me hooked (at least for a while). But there’s so much on the market (new brands, line extensions, different wrappers on old brands, resurrected brands, etc.) that it’s pretty hard for me to stick to one cigar for a long time.

This cigar is the newest release from Davidoff, which is simply called the Davidoff Nicaragua, and, as the name would suggest, this is a Nicaraguan puro. As you probably know, this is a departure for the company in that they have always used Dominican tobacco to make their cigars. In the grand scheme of things is this a big deal? Probably not but it’s cool and interesting and it shows that the company is being creative. Sure, they could have done what they have been doing for years and still met with a great deal of success but why not try something different?

For this review, I picked the smallest size: short corona. It’s a good looking cigar with what appears to be good construction with some minor veinage. Light brown wrapper with an elegant band (hint: when it comes to cigar bands, simpler is almost always better). Let’s light it up.

It starts out with some notes of grass and nuts. There’s also buttered toast and some oats as well. Well developed flavor profile; everything is working excellently together from the start and it’s only getting better as the burn line progresses. Also, there’s a great creaminess to the smoke that accentuates all the aforementioned positives in this cigar.

Since this is a diminutive cigar I am going to dispense with the customary review by thirds and do it by halves. The second half is good with the addition of some more toasted flavors. It’s still a nice, elegant cigar with a good deal of flavors mainly revolving around nuts, oats and some woody sweetness coming through in the background.

Medium bodied with a good draw and burn; the Davidoff Nicaragua is a good addition to their stable of cigars. There are a lot of good flavors milling about here and they are all tasty. It’s an elegant cigar from an elegant company.

There’s quite a few variations on the original Diesel nowadays, which isn’t a bad thing; most things with variety are good (except for diseases, torture devices, zombies… maybe I should rethink this whole variety thing). The Diesel Hair of the Dog is another entry and takes its name from that morning drink of alcohol that is supposed to take out hangovers. Does “the hair of the dog” actually work? I haven’t tried it so I don’t know.

The band on this cigar has the same kind of lettering and style as the others but with a lot of greys and blues. It looks nice, the band I mean, and so does the cigar too. Well made, not a lot of veins, some oils on the wrapper, evenly packed, etc. I would have to say that the wrapper is definitely brown.

A streaking bit of spiciness slashes through an otherwise pleasant flavor profile featuring nuts and oak. You really get acquainted with the spice through the retrohale as the spice just refuses to leave your nostrils once it gets in. And that is fine by me. Even though the spiciness is a bit rough around the edges and, perhaps, sticks around a little too long, it is an enjoyable flavor and it is keeping me interested during this first third.

Now, “hair of the dog,” I know conceptually what it is about. And, if I were to drink in the mornings, which I do not, I’m sure I would have had a Bloody Mary at some point and, even though I haven’t had one that I can remember, I think that’s what they were going for when they created the blend for this cigar (not the tomato juice part but the spice up version part). The cigar is a spiced up version of what a normal Diesel is.

The second third follows up the first third solidly and takes a turn for the better. Spice and oak have joined forces and have created a flavor profile anyone could enjoy. In the background I can still taste some nuttiness and there is some earth mixed in there as well. Overall, this is shaping up to be a solid cigar.

Dialing it back a bit, the spice that was a major factor during the first two thirds becomes a supporting character in the overall flavor profile. It’s still there and it does provide nice support for the oak, earth and flowery sweetness that has come to the fore. It’s a pleasant cigar during the final bits but it still retains some of the spicy edge that I enjoyed during the first two thirds.

Medium-full bodied with a good draw and burn; the Diesel Hair of the Dog is a solid cigar that should keep your interest from beginning to end. There is some evolution in the flavor profile and the flavors were able to keep my interest. However, this cigar isn’t going to overwhelm you with its awesomeness either. It’s an enjoyable cigar with good flavors.